Tempted By An Angel.

"I will send an angel before you... but I will not go with you" (see Exodus 33:1-3)
"If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (see Exodus 34:15)

What an offer. God, after striking the Israelites with a plague (because of their sin), tells Moses that an angel will be sent to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses, in turn, pleads with God to remain with His people. Moses's question is one we can contemplate today: "What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (see Exodus 34:16).

Some years ago, I heard a sermon that referenced this passage. The preacher asked a question of the congregation. It went something like this: "If you knew that you would get everything God promised you, but you wouldn't have the benefit of His Presence, would you be okay with just following an angel? Would you have to think about the offer before answering?"

There is an old hymn that says 'I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today'... Really? You want Him more than your job? More than wealth? More than health? Moses had his priorities straight: yes, the Presence of God mattered above all else.

My prayer is that when we are faced with the offer of "everything but God", we will forsake everything and cling to our Lord. May His Spirit help us to do that.